Bunkering-barge



S. TRUSCOTT.`

BUNKERING BARGE. APPLICATION man MAY a, |919.

Patented May 3l, 192]..

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' APPLICATION FILED MAY 8,1919. 1,380,2'7 3. Patented May 31, 1921.

. IIIIIIIIIIII STARR TRUsco-rr L UNITED STATES PATENT carica.

STARR TRUSCOTT, OF BIRMINGHAM, OHIO.

BUNKERING-BARGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 31, 1921.

Application filed May 8, 1919. Serial No. 295,738.

To all 'w 710m t 'may concern Be it known that I, .STARR Tnnsoo'r'r, a citizen of theUnited States, and residing at Birmingham,v in the county of f Erie and State of Ohio, have invented new` and useful Improvements in Bunkering-Barges, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a bunkering barge, such as used for conveying coal to ships for filling the coal bunkers thereof, and 4it is the primary object of the invention to provide such a barge having novel and improved means foir removing the coal therefrom.

By way of explanation, yit may be stated that the coal generally usedk as fuel on ships is a moist slack or screenings, and is diiicult to handle. Such coal when dropping into the barge usually packs, and various means devised for removingv such coal from the hold of the barge have been found to be futile or ineflicient, due to the failure of such coal to run or fall when drawn out through an opening in the bottom of the hold or bin. Such coal will pack and arch over a lower ofutlet opening, so as to choke the flow, so that a conveyer running in a lixed path under the coal will not be effective. Furthermore, the coal will not slide down the ordinary slopes of inclined bottoms to an outlet. Coliiveyers or elevators have been devised to dip down into the hold of the barge for removing the coal, but these are complicated and can not reach all points of the hold, so that the coal remaining around the walls of the hold and on the bottom musty be removed byhand. The usual modeis to h'avevthe coal taken out manually, requiring a considerable 4amount 0f time and labor,`s'o that time is lost in the schedule of theship, with consequent loss in revenue Consequently, a barge which can be quickly unloaded, willnot only save the expense of considerable labor, but will also permit the ships bunkers to be quickly filled with the required coal, thereby saving delay in sailing and increasing the number of voyages the ship can make.

The invention therefore has for its object, the provision of ya bunkeringbarge, especially useful for conveying coal for filling the.

bunkers of passenger vessels, provided with novely andimproved means operable in the hold or bin for quickly andY eiiciently removing the coal, even though it be moistl slack or screenings. f

A further ob] ect is the provision of Aa conveyer mounted for movement on the bottom of' the hold or bin for conveying the coal to a point of delivery, and also mounted for movement over the bottom so as to undercut'v the coal in such a way as toi assure ythe entirev bulk or pile of coal being loosened and conveyed out of the hold or bin.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will be apparent'as the descrip-v tion proceeds, the invention resides inthe section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, portions being broken away. 1

Figs. 3 and 4: are enlarged cross sections taken on the respective lines 3--3 and l5-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of one of the conveyers operable along ythe bottom :of

the hold, portions `being broken away.

The barge may be of any suitable construction, being provided with the hull 1 and deck 2, and the hold 4of the bargey has one ormorebins vfor ythe coal, there beingL two bins 3 as shown, located fore andaft for receiving and holding the coal 'for conveyance from the shore or coalingV station to the ship when anchored oif shore. The.

deck 2 is provided above each bin 3 with a hatch el: and coaniing 5 around the hatch through which the coa-l is dumped into the bin as usual. f

In carrying out the invention, the bottom of each bin 8 has inclined sides 6 sloping toward one another, whereby the coal has a tendency to gravitate down the sides of the bottom into the valley between them. Between the adjacent ends 'ofk the bottoms ofthe two bins, there is a transverse trough 7 into -which the coal is delivered from the adjacent opened ends of the bins, such Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal.'verticall trough 7 being common to both bins, so as to receive the coal from both bins. A suitable elevator 9 is employed for elevating the coal out of the trough 7, so as to carry it to the ship to fill the coal bunkers thereof,

although any suitable means can be used for Y,

elevating the coal out of the trough, as there is no ditliculty in elevating or conveying the coal after it is once loosened. The elevator 9 may extend upwardly from the center of the trough and conveyers l0 can be provided above the bottom of the trough f or carrying the coal which drops into the trough to the elevator 9,- such conveyers comprising endless conveyer chains or belts as shown. The trough 7 has inclined ends 8 overhanging the opposite ends of the conveyers 10 to prevent the coal falling in back of said conveyers.

Conveyers are provided on the bottoms of the bins 3 and are mounted to traverse the entire areas of such bottoms, so as to undercut, loosen and convey the coal and discharge it intoxthe trough 7 or other receptacle, as hereinafter more fully described. Each bin 3 has a pair of conveyers, and each conveyer includes a longitudinal frame 11 of skeleton or lattice construction disposed closely above one'side 6 of ythebottom of the bin. These longitudinal frames 11 are shiftable transversely over the sides of the binbottom, and are preferably mounted on rollers or wheels 12 which travel on the transverse rails or tracks '13 provided on the sides 6. Sprocket wheels 14 are carried by the end portions ofthe frames 11, and

- endless sprocket chains 15 are trained around the wheels 14, and the longitudinal runs are movable along the edges of the frames 11, said chains having outstanding buckets or sweeps 16 for conveying4 the coal along the inner edges of the frames 11 longitudinallyV toward the trough 7. A shield 17 of sheet metal or other suitable material is preferably mounted on 'each `frameV 11, to prevent the coal from falling and lodging on the frame, and the inner sides 18 of the shields are inclined for deilecting the coal downwardlyY to the inner runs of the conveyer chains 15.

If desired or necessary, the frames 11 can be constrained for uniform movement at both ends, to avoid said frames moving faster or slower at one end than at the other, and this can readily be accomplished by the provision of endless sprocket chains 19 at each end of each side of the bin bottoms, to which the corresponding frames 11 is connected, as at 19, in any 4suitable manner,

Vand the chains 19 can be mounted on longitudinal shafts 19 whereby both chains 19 of each pair move in unison, thereby constraining the frame 11 to move parallel with itself.

InV order to actuate the conveyer chains 15, worms 20 are provided at the opposite ends of the sides 6 of the bottoms of the two bins, and are inclined similar to said sides 6, and worm wheels 21 are secured to the corresponding sprocket wheels 14 and mesh with said worms, whereby the rotation of the worms will rotate such sprocket wheels for moving the inner runs of the chains 15 longitudinally toward the trough 7. The worms 20 can be driven from a central longitudinal shaft 22, to which said worms can be connected by suitable gearing 23, and the elevator 9 land conveyers 10 can also be operated from said shaft 22, as will be readily understood. Furthermore, the worms 2() in engaging the worm wheels 21, will not only actuate the conveyer chains 15, but will also create atendency to move the worm wheels 21 and frames 11 inwardly and downwardly along said sides of the binv ings 5, so that when the coal is dumped intoV the bins, it will pile up on the bottoms thereof, and the opposite sides of the pile or stack of coal in each bin will bear against the sides 18 of the shields 17 and sides of the coaming 5. Then, when the barge is in place to be emptied, for filling bunkers of a vessel, the shaft 22 is operated by an engine or other .prime mover (not shown), asl will be readily understood, thereby actuating the conveyers, and the conveyers 15 are moved longitudinally toward the trough 7 at their inner runs, thereby carrying' coal with them and discharging same'into the trough onto the conveyers 1() which carry the coal to the elevator 9. The elevator 9 works upwardly through a hatch 4 in the deck 2 of the barge to carry the coal to the vessel. The inner runs of the conveyer chains 15 thus cut under the opposite sides of the pile or stack of coal in each bin, adjacent to the bottom of each bin, and as the coal is loosened, cut away and conveyed from the opposite sides of the pile, the coal above the cut away portion will fall down along the sides 18 of the shields 17 to be conveyed with the chain 15 and dumped into the trough 7. The opposite sides of the pile or stack of coal in each bin are thus attacked and undercut to loosen the coal and free it from under the sides of thek pile, thereby causing the coal above the undercut portions to loosen and drop down. Then, as the opposite sides of the pile are reduced by the loosening of the coal andthe cony This holds lthe sides 18 of the shield 17 against the sides of the pile or stack of coal, and the conveyer chains 15 are thus kept in operation for cutting under the sides of the pile, and this under-cutting and loosening of the pile or stack of coal at the opposite sides thereof, and from underneath, will cause the sides of the pile to be loosened even though the' coal packs, whereby the coal will be conveyed along the bottoms of the bins and discharge into the trough 7, from which the coal can be readily elevated by the means shown or other means suitable for the purpose. As the pile of coal in each bin is reduced in width, the frames 11 move inwardly and downwardly along the inclined sides of the bottom, and the coal in dropping down along the sides of the pile will drop against the inclined sides 18 of the shields 17, thus preventing the too rapid inward movement of the conveyer frames 11. Thus, as long as the coal drops down along the sides of the pile, the frames 11 do not shift inwardly, thereby preventing the coal from piling on or falling in back of the shields 17 and frames 11, but as soon as the coal bearing against the sides 18 of the shields 17 is conveyed away, said frames can then shift inwardly, such shifting movement being gradual as the coal isv carried away, and continuing until the conveyer chains 15 meet at the adjacent edges of the bin bottom sides 6. The inclining of the sides G enables the frames 11 to move inwardly by gravity, although if the bin bottoms were horizontal, the effort of the vworms 2O would still be sufficient to shift the frames 11 inwardly, or other suitable means could be provided for the purpose. Each conveyer chain 15, frame 11` and shield 17 will operate individually as a unit independent of the others.

The barge can thus be quickly unloaded and almost entirely by mechanical means, eliminating the great amount of labor that is usually employed, and also saving considerable time as over the slow laborious method .now in use.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. A barge having a hold, a conveyer frame mounted to move over the bottom of the hold transversely of said frame, an endless conveyer chain carried by said frame, means beyond one end of said frame for receiving the. material conveyed by said chain, and a shield mounted on said frame and extending upwardly from one run of said chain.

2. A barge having f a hold, a conveyer framev mounted for movement transversely of itself over the bottom of the hold, an endless conveyer chain carried by said frame, one run of vsaid chain being arranged for conveying the material along the bottom of the hold toward one end of said frame, means at said end of the frame for receiving the material, and a shield mounted on said frame including an inclined side extending upwardly from said run of the chain.

3. A barge having a. hold and a filling hatch, a frame movable transversely of itself over the bottom of the hold under said hatch and movable to a position at one side of the hatch, an endless conveyer chain carried by said frame, and means beyond one end of said frame for receiving the material conveyed by said chain. Y

4. A barge having a hold and a filling hatch, a frame movable transversely of itself over'the bottom of the hold and movable under the hatch and to a position at one side of the hatch, an endless conveyer chain carried by said frame, means at one end of said frame for receiving the material con veyed by said chain, and a shield mounted on said frame above said chain and arranged so that the material bears against said shield when said frame is at the side of the hatch and the hold filled.

5. A barge having a hold provided with a bottom having an inclined side, a frame movable transversely of itself on said side upwardly and downwardly thereon, and an endless conveyer chain carried by said frame, the barge having means beyond one end of said frame for receiving the material conveyed by the chain.

6. A barge having a hold and a filling hatch, the bottom of the hold having an inclined side, a frame movable transversely of itself over said side under the hatch and movable to the upper portion of said side to one side of the hatch, an endless conveyer chain carried b y said frame, means beyond one end of said frame for receiving the material conveyed by the chain, and a shield mounted on the frame above said chain for the material to bear against when the frame is at the upper portion of said side when the hold is filled.

7. A barge having a hold provided with a bottom having inclined sides sloping toward one another, frames movable transversely of themselves on said sides toward and away from one another, endless conveyer chains carried by said frames, and means at one end of said frames for receiving the materialv conveyed by said chains.

8. A barge having a hold anda filling hatch, the bottom of the hold having inclined sides sloping toward one another, 'ramesmovable transversely of themselves on said sides of the bottom toward and away from one another, endless oonveyer chains carried by said frames, means at one end of said frames for vreceiving the material con- Veyed by said chains, said frames being movable to the upper portions of said sides at opposite sides of said hatch, and shields mounted on said frames above the Chains for the material to bear against when the hold is filled With said frames at the opposite sides of said hatch. Y Y V 10 In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand. l

STARR TnUsCoTT. 

